Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 606 The fox is sad when the rabbit dies
Li Guorui was arrested directly on the street while he was "selling" things with his wives and concubines.

In a blink of an eye, a group of ferocious Dongchang men dispersed the crowd and arrested Li Guorui without saying a word. Li Guorui was dumbfounded at the time. When he came to his senses, he wanted to shout for help, but someone had already stuffed a sesame seed into his mouth, so he couldn't shout at all and was taken away directly.

In a blink of an eye, Li Guorui was imprisoned. Everyone in Wuqing Marquis' Mansion was frightened by this scene. The men were terrified, the women were crying, and the scene was in chaos and no one knew what to do.

After imprisonment, Emperor Chongzhen was still not satisfied and issued an order to deprive Li Guorui of his title of Marquis of Wuqing. When the news reached the prison, Li Guorui was so frightened that his face turned pale and his whole body trembled. He never thought that he had just cried about being poor in the hope that the emperor would reduce the money he borrowed, but now not only was his title taken away, but he was also thrown into prison.

The Imperial Prison is not a place for ordinary people to stay. It is not the prison of the Ministry of Justice. Only a handful of people who can be released safely from the Imperial Prison are able to do so. When the Tianqi Emperor was in power, Wei Zhongxian had imprisoned countless court officials in the Imperial Prison. And was there anyone who could leave safely?
Once he entered the imperial prison, his life would no longer be his own, and without his title, Li Guorui would be a lamb to be slaughtered. Thinking of this, Li Guorui became more and more scared. After just one night, Li Guorui, who was not very courageous to begin with, was frightened to death in prison.

"Li Guorui is dead?" Wang Chengen hurriedly reported the news to Emperor Chongzhen, who was also shocked when he heard the news.

He never thought of killing Li Guorui. After all, Li Guorui was his cousin, and Li Guorui's daughter married the son of Zhou Kui, the father-in-law of the emperor, who was his brother-in-law. No matter from which perspective, Li Guorui was a legitimate relative of the emperor.

The reason why Emperor Chongzhen punished Li Guorui was because Li Guorui was too ignorant. He knew the importance of borrowing money but chose to go against him. Even if Li Guorui bowed to him and took out the money earlier, Emperor Chongzhen would not punish him, but would reward him greatly and give him some benefits in other aspects.

But Li Guorui was so clever that he did all these things, and even brought his family to sell things on the street. Isn't this a slap in the face of Emperor Chongzhen? Moreover, the matter of borrowing is of great importance. If Li Guorui doesn't make a good start, the subsequent borrowing will not be able to be carried out, and then this matter will be completely impossible to do.

Under such circumstances, Li Guorui did not help him and even used his cleverness to cause all these troubles. It would be strange if Emperor Chongzhen was not angry, so he ordered the arrest of Li Guorui and at the same time took away his title of Marquis of Wuqing. His intention was not to kill him, but to use this to warn Li Guorui. As long as Li Guorui surrendered and handed over the silver obediently, Emperor Chongzhen would let him go, and the title of Marquis of Wuqing would also be returned to him.

But now, Li Guorui was just arrested yesterday, and today Wang Chengen told him that Li Guorui was dead, and he was frightened to death in prison.

For a moment, Emperor Chongzhen frowned. This was no small matter. A noble relative of the emperor's family was deprived of his title and frightened to death because of an incident. The result of this incident was beyond Emperor Chongzhen's expectations. Once the news spread, it would be very difficult. More importantly, the impact it would bring was huge.

The most important thing was the matter of borrowing. The fact that this matter had just begun had turned out like this made Emperor Chongzhen even more angry and annoyed. If he gave up the idea of ​​borrowing because of Li Guorui's death, wouldn't it be the same as him, the emperor, backing off?
If the loan fails, what will happen to the Ming Dynasty's finances? Without money, how can the battlefield in Liaodong be maintained? In addition, the rebellions in various places have not been quelled, and all of these require money! After thinking about it, Emperor Chongzhen felt that no matter how Li Guorui died, the loan must continue. Although Li Guorui's death was an accident, it would be a good thing if this accident was used well, and it would let the nobles and relatives of the nobles see his determination!
Emperor Chongzhen immediately told Wang Chengen that Li Guorui committed suicide out of fear of punishment. He first determined the crime and then asked Wang Chengen to go to Wuqing Marquis' Mansion to search the property.

Although Li Guorui died and his title was taken away before his death, the Wuqing Marquisate still exists.

How could it be so easy to get over it when the debt is still there? Since Emperor Chongzhen had made up his mind to use the money, he had to continue to push forward with it. The arrow was on the string and had to be shot. Emperor Chongzhen was determined to make it happen no matter what.

"Your Majesty... this..." Wang Chengen's face changed drastically when he heard Emperor Chongzhen's decision. Emperor Chongzhen was too reckless. Although Li Guorui had been stripped of his title and died, he was still a noble relative after all! The Li family was not an ordinary family. Moreover, the nobles and relatives of the Ming Dynasty were all one. If Emperor Chongzhen made some gestures at this time, returned the title of Wuqing Hou, and appeased Li Guorui's son, this matter could be suppressed even if there were troubles.

But now, Emperor Chongzhen not only did not do so, but instead planned to add fuel to the fire and do it to the extreme. Wang Chengen was really worried that if he did so, it would cause a chain reaction and lead to more serious consequences.

"I have made up my mind!" Emperor Chongzhen glanced at Wang Chengen coldly and said directly, "There is no room for bargaining in national affairs. What can you do if you look ahead and behind? Li Guorui is dead, but the matter of helping others must be carried out. You should bring people to confiscate the Wuqing Marquis Mansion for me now, and spread the news to the outside world on my behalf, saying that no one can stop the matter of helping others. If anyone disobeys again, they should take Li Guorui as a warning!"

"Your servant...Your servant obeys your order..." Wang Chengen felt bitter in his mouth, but he could only obey the order.

After Wang Chengen left, Emperor Chongzhen sneered in the side hall. He was stubborn and never gave in, especially when it came to difficult things, he would do them even more, and he couldn't stand any provocation. In his eyes, Li Guorui's matter was both a trouble and an opportunity. Using Li Guorui to pressure others and force them to do something was the best option. That night, somewhere in the capital.

Several people were sitting in a circle. A man with a long beard sat in the first seat. On his left was a slightly fat man. The other people sitting there were all the most prominent nobles and relatives of the Ming Dynasty.

There were no servants in the room, as they had been sent away long ago. Everyone looked solemn with frowns on their faces.

"The Wuqing Marquis Mansion has just been raided..." said a nobleman.

Everyone already knew about this matter, and the reason why they gathered together in the middle of the night was because of this matter.

"News came from the Imperial Prison that Wuqing Marquis Li Guorui has also died..." the nobleman said again.

No one spoke, and they remained silent. Seeing everyone like this, the noble couldn't help but said anxiously, "This is getting serious, and you guys are not doing anything about it? The fate of Wu Qinghou today will surely fall on you tomorrow. Aren't you worried?"

"There's news from the palace that the emperor is determined to implement the policy this time. Although Li Guorui is the first one to fall into the emperor's hands, you should know that no matter how much we have conflicts, we are still one. If he can treat Wu Qinghou like this, he can treat us the same way. When that time comes, do you plan to surrender directly? Will you pay me money?"

"Take out the silver? Haha." Another person sneered, "Everyone knows what's going on with the loan. This wealth is accumulated by several generations of us with great difficulty. Why should we lend it to the court? To the Ministry of Revenue? And can the court pay back the money we lent? This is fooling a three-year-old child! Doesn't the Ministry of Revenue know what's going on right now? If there is silver, why do we need to borrow it? It's clearly robbery!"

"That's right!" Another person took over the conversation, his expression was very excited: "Throughout the dynasties, I have never heard of the court asking for help, let alone the emperor forcing his relatives to death and confiscating their property because of this. The current emperor is incompetent in governing the country, with financial difficulties and rebellions everywhere. Instead of reflecting on himself, he is targeting us. This is simply unbelievable! He doesn't even think about it. If we hadn't pushed him hard, how could he have sat on the throne? How could he have become the emperor?"

As soon as this was said, everyone agreed with it. Everyone started to curse. They were all the most distinguished people in the Ming Dynasty. Which one of them could not directly influence the government? When had they ever suffered such injustice? When had they ever been bullied like this?
Although Emperor Chongzhen ascended to the throne with the will of Emperor Tianqi, if it were not for the tacit approval and consent of these people, and their pushing at the critical moment, could Emperor Chongzhen really have sat on the throne?
Now, he has become the emperor, but after becoming the emperor, he turned against them. Not only was he ungrateful, he also set his sights on their wealth, intending to use some tricks to get money from them.

Although the people present here are wealthy and have a lot of silver in their hands, the problem is that no one is willing to lend the silver to the court, not to mention that once the silver is taken out, it will be like throwing meat buns to a dog and never come back, and the court will never be able to return it to them.

How could they not see clearly what Wuqing Hou Li Guorui could see clearly? The more important point is that Emperor Chongzhen must not be allowed to accomplish this. With Emperor Chongzhen's character, once he did one thing, he would have another. By then, no matter how big the family business was, it would be endlessly "extorted", which was unbearable for everyone.

"Enough!" Just as everyone was cursing with indignation, the bearded man who had been silent shouted in a low voice.

"What's the point of saying this?" The long-bearded man said coldly, "The Wuqing Marquis's mansion has been raided. If we don't find a way to get the emperor to revoke his order as soon as possible, who knows who will be next."

"Don't forget, everyone. Lending is not just for the nobles, the relatives and out-of-laws. Given the temper of our emperor, once he gets a taste of the sweetness, he will most likely continue to expand it. By then, no one can escape, let alone resist. If you want to solve it, you must act immediately!"

(End of this chapter)